A Whole New World
by applebugs
Summary: He's the prince of the campus. She's the only woman on the planet who's not interested. She's also the only one he wants, and Uchiha Sasuke won't give up until he gets his way. Will the prince get his princess?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay well I have no idea what I'm doing haha oh well! :) Please read and review, this is my first story so don't be too harsh ^.^**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

The campus was buzzing with excitement. The new year had just started, and with it bought emotional freshmen parents, disputes over dorms, and an abundance of squeals and "OH MY GOSH HOW WAS YOUR SUMMER?"'s. However, it had also bought with it the perfect balance of chaos and happiness that everyone was so used to at Konoha University during the semester. That which everyone had so dearly missed had returned, and thus balance was restored.

Sakura hauled the last of her suitcases out of the back of her dad's car, shutting the boot and struggling to move it out of the road and onto the sidewalk. She shifted her sunglasses off the bridge of her nose, onto her head, and beamed at her parents. "Time's gone so quickly, can you believe I'm in my second year already?"

Sakura's mother shook her head tearfully in response, while her father tucked an arm round her shoulders. "My little girl ain't so little anymore, is she?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Dad, I've not been your little girl for ages…"

"I know, I know," he laughed, poking her stomach playfully. "Do you want us to wait for you while you put your stuff in your dorm? I doubt you want mommy and daddy helping you with your cases now you're a big bad second year…"

"No, it's alright, I'm going to be a while with my stuff, might as well say our goodbyes now." Sakura paused, looking first at her red-faced mother and then at her father, and then back again. "Dad, look after mom, okay?"

"You got it, kiddo."

Sakura took a deep breath and stepped to face her mom. She put her arms around the older, strawberry-haired woman, and breathed in her motherly scent once more: melted butter, detergent and air freshener. When she pulled away, her mother was crying again. "Hold it together, mom," Sakura said confidently, holding back her own tears. "I'll come back at Christmas alright?"

Her mother nodded. Then Sakura went for her dad, and practically threw her arms around him. She'd always been closer to her dad than her mom, but it was moments like this when she realised how much she loved them both. Sakura inhaled - the smell of leather and oil from the garage filled her nose.

"I'll miss you, dad." her voice was only barely audible as she murmured into his chest.

"I'll miss you more, kiddo."

"See you soon?"

"See you sooner."

Sakura giggled at his nonsense, before stepping back and giving a watery smile. "Well, off you go, I'm fine now."

Her parents each took deep breaths. In turn they kissed their daughter goodbye before getting in the car. As her father reversed out of their parking spot, her mother leaned out the window. "You have plenty of towels, don't you?"

Sakura laughed, and waved goodbye as they drove away.

The new dorm for second years was cleaner than expected. A potted plant sat on the window sill, the carpet had obviously been re-bleached, and the furniture was brand new. The small living area smelt of carpet cleaner and air conditioning, and when Sakura peered inside the bedrooms, the windows were open for the bedding to air. It was comfortable, quaint. Sakura smiled, and the door opened behind her.

Stood in the doorway were her two new roommates for the year. One was tall, impossibly thin, and had a waterfall of blonde hair that fell to her hips. As far as Sakura could see there wasn't a blemish on her body. Her small, reasonably tanned stomach was on show, as were her lean dancer's legs. However, despite her typically perfect appearance, she shot Sakura a wonky smile, and demonstrated that she was not, in fact, who Sakura had already pre-determined in her mind.

The other girl took a while for Sakura to notice, purely because she was so little and practically hid behind the other. She had pale skin, long, dark hair, and practically white eyes. She dressed plainly, but delicately, in a past-knee length skirt and plain blouse. She didn't make eye contact, but something told Sakura that she would turn out to be quite a pleasant person.

"Hiiiiiii!" the blonde chirped, striding into the room, carrying only her purse. She took Sakura by the forearms and kissed her once on either cheek. "I'm Yamanaka Ino, but you can just call me Ino, 'kay, sweetie? And who are you?"

Sakura laughed nervously. "Uh, I'm Haruno Sakura, guess we're roommates now!"

The other girl hovered close to the door, as though she was about to make a break for it any minute. However, before she could, Ino had her by the wrists and dragged her to stand between herself and Sakura. "And who're you, cutie-pie?"

The girl flushed red as a tomato, and made a small squeaking sound in the back of her throat that sounded a lot like, "Um, my bags…".

"I'm sorry, what's your name? You'll have to speak up, I'm deaf as anything, hun!"

"H-Hyuuga Hi-Hinata!" she squeaked again, this time marginally louder.

"Well then, that's all well and dandy, isn't it?" Ino hooked her arms around both girls' necks, and swung them round to face the door. "Yamato! My bags, please! And bring Hinata's in while you're at it!"

An ashen faced man heaved a luggage cart into the room, piled high with at least 12, pastel pink suitcases. Sakura inwardly cringed for Yamato's sake as he looked witheringly at the blonde, turned on his heel, and began carting in Hinata's own baggage.

"Thaaaaaaanks, Yamato, you're a doll!" Ino winked at him, unhanding her roommates to slip a bill into Yamato's breast pocket. He nodded once respectfully, and left without a word.

"Come on, girlies," Ino turned back to them. "We're gonna have to get to know one another, right?"

"Uhh…I guess –" Sakura began.

"And what _better _way to do that than go boy-spotting together? Am I right or am I right?" she shrugged cheerfully before turning on her heel and flouncing out of the door, an obvious sign that she was to be followed.

Sakura and Hinata just exchanged The Look and followed close behind their flamboyant new friend.

**Please review if you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for your faves and alerts on the last chapter, they made me smile :) **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

Ino lounged back on the grass, her skin glowing in the late summer sunshine. She pulled her sunglasses back down over her eyes and gave a contented sigh. "Don't you just _love_ the first day?"

Hinata gave a nervous mumble of a reply, and Sakura said nothing. Instead, she watched the third-year boys mindlessly throw a ball back and forth, stopping occasionally to dribble it, or take a new look at the game and bounce it to a teammate. Sakura was pretty sure this wasn't how you played basketball – isn't the ball meant to go _in_ the net? – but all the same, she didn't question it.

Ino sat back up, lifted her glasses, and nudged the rosette in the arm. "You see any boys you think are cute?"

"Uh…not really…"

"Oooh, what about him, he seems like your type!"

"Nah, too much brawn…"

"Not enough brain? Oh honey I totally get that, you seem like the smart sort." Ino flapped a hand understandingly. "What about him, he's smart?"

Ino jabbed a perfectly manicured finger in the direction of the court. The boy she'd apparently singled out was not taking part in the game, but leaning uninterestedly against the chain-link fence, watching his classmates play with a look of mild embarrassment. He had pale, chiselled features, dark hair and eyes…his body wasn't much of an asset, but he was pretty, she'd give him that. Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Who's that?"

Ino gave an overacted gasp, feigning horror. "Sakura, you mean to say you don't know who Uchiha Sasuke _is_?!"

"…no."

"He's only the prince of our campus." Ino flailed her arms. "His father's a benefactor, having donated millions to improving our quality of living and learning, and he himself is just…ugh, I can't even begin describe him! He's fairly athletic but not cocky about it, he's smart, he's well-spoken, and not to mention he's _totally gorgeous_."

Sakura hesitated. "Ah…not my type, I don't think."

Ino lifted an eyebrow. "Girl, are you asexual or some'in? Uchiha Sasuke is _everyone's_ type, even Hinata's!" The girl in question squeaked a little and flushed red.

"I can see the appeal, but…" Sakura shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know, he doesn't seem like he'd be fun to date."

It was at that moment that he looked up at her, and they locked gazes.

In any other scenario, in a novel or a movie, Sakura would have blushed. She would have looked away hurriedly, cheeks red and heart pounding against her ribcage. Her pulse would have increased ten-fold. Her speech would have impaired itself as she tried to regain her cool. But this was real life – she was not in love, she was interested in love, and she was not, under any circumstances, a professional Ana Steele-slash-Bella Swan impersonator.

So she rolled her eyes and looked away at her own pace, as anyone with dignity should have done.

"Whoaaaa, are you seeing this?" Ino squealed, flapping her arms. "Sasuke's actually _trying_ to hold eye contact with someone for more than 4.63 seconds! He's totally checking you _out_~!"

"Well he can stop trying to check me out, I'm not a library book." Sakura grumbled.

"Girl, seriously. Take it as a compliment. The last person Sasuke took interest in won the lottery, her ill father was cured, and her older sister and brother-in-law who were on the brink of divorce got back together. If that doesn't tell you that being liked by Uchiha Sasuke is a blessing, then I don't know what will."

"…"

"Just go say hi or something!"

"…yeah, okay, how do I put this as simply as possible…_no_."

Ino huffed and turned to Hinata. "What're your views on the situation, O' Wise Hyuuga-sensei?"

"U-um…" Hinata looked uncomfortable for a while before she began. "Well, if Sasuke likes Sakura, then she should feel…um, flattered, b-but if she doesn't re-return those feelings, then we should respect that, and l-l-let her like who she wants…but then on the other hand, if she _does _end up l-liking Sasuke back, th-then we should be happy for her…but she'll have to be m-modest about it, since the fan c-club won't be happy…"

Ino blinked. "Damn, I didn't realise you could talk so much. So~, that settles it. Hinata's word is law. Give Sasuke a chance!"

"Th-that's not what I—"

"Just pursue it, see what happens!"

Sakura blinked. She looked from Hinata, to Ino, and over to Sasuke, who had now broken eye contact but was still taking a sneaky glance over every few moments. She looked back to Ino, and narrowed her eyes.

"You're full of shit." she said lowly. "But we'll see."

Ino clapped childishly.

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Once again, thank you for the lovely reviews and all the faves/alerts! As requested, here's the update!**

Sakura left shortly after that encounter. She'd fallen into a state of annoyance after that, for some reason that neither Ino nor the wise Hinata could work out, and had stood up, brushed down her knees and butt, and declared she was going to get a drink. That hadn't been a lie – instead, she retrieved her can from the machine, and rather than returning to her friends (which she'd never said she'd do, it was just assumed), had taken a seat between the bottled water machine, and the snack dispenser. The gap between was just the right size for her to curl up in, and it was surprisingly comfortable. Sakura curled her legs up, and sipped her drink contentedly.

She heard footsteps coming down the hall, but chose to ignore them. Hopefully, the person would just turn down the stairwell opposite, or would buy their drink and peacefully leave without a word. Sakura didn't like being disturbed when she was in a mood like this…_please don't talk to me, please don't talk to me…_

The person stood before her, unmoving. She pretended not to notice, and took out her phone, suddenly checking her Facebook notifications every few seconds. She heard a sigh.

"Hi."

She said nothing.

"Are you just gonna ignore me, or..?"

She looked up and into the eyes of the infamous Uchiha. She noticed, after the second time of locking eyes with him, that he had the prettiest eyelashes. They made him look a little girly, but it was cute. "Are you following me, or..?"

"If I recall correctly," Sasuke took a few steps back, and then sat down, his back propped against the opposing wall. "It was you and your friends who turned up at the courts after me. You sure you're not following me?"

"I don't even know your name." Sakura lied.

"Uchiha Sasuke." he replied quickly.

She said nothing, again. He lifted an eyebrow. "You know it's common courtesy to give your own name after asking for another's."

"I didn't ask."

"Asking, implying, same difference." Sasuke was starting to sound impatient. "I don't even know _your_ name."

Sakura paused, and looked at him with narrow eyes. Clever.

"Haruno Sakura. Is there a reason you're following me and demanding I tell you my name, Uchiha Sasuke?"

"I actually have a question for you. Well, two."

"Shoot. Providing one of those questions isn't '_Do the curtains match the drapes?_'"

"…okay, one question."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Ever since she was a little girl, she'd been teased for her oddly coloured hair, and she'd never grown used to the immature comments and constant questions as to the shade of dye she used.

Sasuke looked her dead in the eye. "You want to get some food with me some time?"

"…is that you asking me on a date?"

"It might be."

Sakura frowned. Okay, this was weird…the most untouchable guy on campus, who barely dated anyone, was asking her out for food, after having spoken to her for all of a minute and a half? Wow, when this guy fell, he obviously fell _hard_.

"I don't _know _you."

"Then get to know me." He smirked again. "Over dinner."

Sakura blinked twice. Then, without really thinking, she was on her feet, bag thrown over her shoulder. As she began to walk away, she muttered, "I don't date."

Sasuke didn't follow her.

…

"He _asked you out?!_"

Sakura nodded, not looking up from her book. Hinata and Ino hadn't returned to the dorm until 7pm, the former looking far more comfortable around the blonde than before. Ino flapped her arms, grunting in desperation to find the right words, before jumping on Sakura's bed, unintentionally straddling her back. "_Tell me you said yes._"

Sakura turned her page. "I said no."

Ino almost choked. "You said _no?"_

"Yes."

"Yes – wait, so you said yes?"

"No, I said no."

"Ohh…" Ino pushed her fringe out of her face. "_Well why the crap did you do that?!"_

"I-Ino, I think you're breaking Sakura's back…"

"WELL GOOD."

Sakura slipped the bookmark between the pages, put her book down on the floor at the end of the bed, and sighed, resting her chin on her upturned palms. "I'm not interested in dating."

"F-fair enough, Sa-Sakura –"

"No, Hinata, _not_ fair enough!" Ino flailed again. "Do you realise, a hundred million girls would _kill_ to be asked out on a date with Sasuke? No, a hundred million _guys_ would kill to be asked out on a date with Sasuke – the entire population of women in the world would kill, eat, regurgitate, then eat again, to be asked –"

"I get it, Ino…" Sakura pushed herself upward, sending the deadweight girl on her back tumbling onto the floor. "Those women can have him, I'm not interested."

"But _he_ obviously is! Just give it a chance, Sakura, you never know what'll happen!"

Hinata just nodded wisely.

"Ino." Sakura said. "Stop. I'm going to sleep."

She rolled over, shut off the lamp, and got under the covers. When she didn't hear the others leave, she sighed.

"That means leave, please."

Hinata made sure to close the door behind her.

**Ooh, a bit of drama, haha! okay, not really, but you get it xDD **_**Please **_**review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it's been so long! D:  
Thanks once again for the reviews and faves – hit 10 reviews! ;w; Also special thanks to **_**Nuria Sato**_**, whose helpful feedback helped write this chapter :)**

"She said _no?_"

Sasuke said nothing. His hands laced together, he stared down at the table beneath his elbows, taking deep, slow, deliberate breaths to calm his annoyance. He could hear the giggles rising in his friends' throats. _Do not yell, Sasuke, be the better man…_

That was when Naruto broke. His laughter filled the room, uncontrollable and loud and _annoying as hell_, and Kiba followed suit. Sasuke drew a long, thin breath before letting it go again. Neji smirked in the background, observing the apparent hilarity with a quiet amusement.

"I – why, man?"

"She's obviously got poor taste." Sasuke shrugged a little. "It wasn't even like I asked her _out_-out, I just offered food."

"No, no, I mean," Naruto caught his breath, clapping his hand around Kiba's shoulder to keep balance. "Why did you ask her out _when you barely even knew her name?_"

Sasuke said nothing. Then he just shrugged again. "She's different."

"_She's different?_" Kiba howled in response. "Dude, Hyuuga Hinata's 'different'. Tenten's 'different'. But you don't see guys asking _them_ out before introducing themselves."

Sasuke shook his head. "It's not the same."

"How?"

…Silence. Kiba just shrugged, Naruto frowned, and Neji remained amused. Conversation turned to how messy the room was already, and Sasuke's love life was long forgotten.

Sakura lay awake that night, unmoving. Her eyes refused to weigh themselves down, her brain wouldn't shut down. Even when she almost drifted off, thoughts would swarm in her mind once again, and her mind would go into overdrive.

Perhaps it wasn't just being asked out that had her mind stirring. Perhaps, the stress of moving in, homesickness, and the looming cold on Sakura's chest was just making the whole thing seem so much worse. But still…

She shut her eyes, and pictured dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin, and soft lips on hers.

**omg omg I'm so sorry ;; this is so short, and it's been so long, you're probably thinking "omg Mina what are you doing, you make us wait like 2 weeks and you give us this crap?!". weeeell I have no excuse, it would be longer but I didn't want to make you wait more ;;;;; **


	5. Chapter 5

**o m g it's been like over a month guys, I'm so sorry!  
I'm not even gonna make excuses like "I've been sick" or "I've been busy" b/c I haven't, I've just been lazy.. XDD;  
BUT I'm back, so enjoy the chappie!**

The Campus Café was thriving, as usual. It wasn't even seven o' clock, yet, but the average-sized venue was already packed with people, most of whom were freshman girls and their reluctant boyfriends. A handful of girls were gathered by the back entrance, huddled together and murmuring excitedly, their heavily made-up eyes wide and smiling.

Sakura took her place on a barstool behind a tall table towards the back of the venue. Immediately she assumed a bored posture, slumping forward and propping her cheeks up on her palms. Ino, on the other hand, sat with a straight back, dancing in her seat and humming as she contentedly slurped her drink down.

"Ino, remind me why you dragged me out, and not Hinata?" Sakura deadpanned as her blonde companion replaced her glass.

"Because Hinata needs to study," Ino practically sung. "Hinata's getting an education, Sakura!"

"…what, and I'm not?" Sakura muttered into her palms.

As if on cue, the lights in the café dropped. A wave of cheers went up, and the stage lights flared blue and green and yellow. A single guitar chord rung out from backstage from an amp.

Sakura prodded Ino's arm. "What band is this, anyway?"

Ino mimed something unintelligible back; Sakura frowned, cursing her poor lip reading skills, and turned back to face the stage. And then the band took their places, and the cheers turned into screams. Eventually, the screams formed a word, just one word:

"Ta-ka! Ta-ka! Ta-ka!"

Sakura avoided looking at the group. Judging by the turnout, and the obnoxious rock music playing in the background as they made their entrance, they were your typical university band; probably third year, pretty boys, who thought the world orbited around them and sun shone out of their asses.

The leader, and perhaps the singer, arrived at the mic. "How you all doiiiiiing?"

Another wave of screams. One girl to Sakura's immediate left fell backwards into her friend as she screeched "_Bare my children!_" at the poor guy.

"You all ready to party?"

"_Yes_!"

"I can't hear you…"

"_Yeeees!_"

The reaction this guy was drawing from the crowd was impressive, she'd give them that. And so, stirring her straw absently around her glass, she spared the stage a glance.

The singer and rhythm guitarist was just as she'd expected – blonde, dressed in skinny jeans and a glow in the dark (?) tee-shirt. He did, however, smile as honestly and radiantly as the sun. The drummer was a brawny, scruffy, brunette with odd tattoos on his cheeks; Sakura wondered if they were the mark of a gang, and wouldn't put it past him, either. The lead guitarist, a tall, unsmiling man with hair longer than her own and the palest eyes she'd ever seen on a human being.

And the bassist…

_Uchiha Sasuke_.

Sakura almost keeled sideways off her stool. The guy she'd rejected, not four days earlier, was in front of her, on a stage, with a bass in hand and a hundred college-aged girls screaming his name.

He looked up into the crowd, the ghost of a smirk on his face, and began to play in time with his band mates. Sakura wouldn't lie, where these guys weren't her style of music, they weren't bad. They were actually really good.

But this music…the convenience that he was a bassist…Sakura despised Sasuke all that bit more.

She slipped off her stool and out the back door, leaving Ino clapping to the music alone.

* * *

Sasuke didn't like meet and greets after concerts. When they were just starting out as a band, it had been okay, maybe five or ten people would wait behind, complement the performance, offer a leaflet to be signed, and they'd leave. But this…this was _ridiculous_.

He shot a withering look out the crack in the stage door, leaving it to close behind his band mates. Naruto and Kiba, and on occasion Neji, were the ones who would front meet and greets, not Sasuke. Sasuke just made himself scarce. Without fail, he would hear girls screaming, "What, where's Sasuke?!", and without fail, Naruto would have to explain how the oh-so desirable bassist had a fever, or homework, or family engagements, or diarrhoea.

When the crowd had finally dispersed, Sasuke mounted his bass on his shoulders and slipped out the door, with a nod to each of his friends. As he got further from the café, and closer to the dorms, he noticed a figure sat on a bench, hunched over on herself, an illuminated phone in her hand. He squinted his eyes, then smirked. That pink hair was unmissable.

"You're gonna get a cold." he said plainly as he sat down beside her.

Sakura snapped her phone shut, clenching it defensively to her chest. She narrowed her eyes at him, before relaxing closer. "So? What does that—"

"Why'd you leave the show?"

That caught her off guard. She was certain he hadn't seen her, let alone seen her leave so early. She locked her nervous gaze with his steady one, and swallowed the saliva gathering in her mouth.

"I…I didn't feel well."

"Really."

He didn't drop eye contact. She glanced away, pressing her lips together.

"…really." Sakura said quietly. "Can you just leave it?"

Sasuke watched her for a moment, saying nothing. His eyes traced her features; the curve of her nose, her skinny lips, her almond-shaped eyes, her slightly chubby cheeks over high cheekbones, her pierced ears, the rises and falls of her throat as she swallowed, the rises of her chest as she breathed. Her slender collarbone, adorned with a star-shaped pendant.

He stood up, patted her once on the shoulder. "Alright. See you around."

And, as suddenly as he had arrived, he was gone.

**Hope this was worth the wait, guys! ;w;**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi c: here's the new chappie of AWNW! hope you enjoy it~.  
also, I forgot to mention closer to the beginning, this fic's gonna be fairly short, since it's just my first, and I don't wanna be too adventurous.. sorry! few more chaps though. c:**

Taka's performance was the talk of the campus the following morning. Freshman girls wandering in herds were partaking in heated arguments over who their favourite member was; older girls were trying to act cool, but it was obvious how desperately they wanted to join in.

Sakura heaved a sigh from where she lounged on a bench. Her bike was propped haphazardly against the arm, unchained, and her favourite flavour of Frappuccino sat beside it; strawberries and cream, with extra cream. "Why did he have to choose me?" she muttered into her fists. "Why him, and why _me_?"

The next thing she knew, what felt like a bucket of ice had been dumped in her lap, and her bike was sprawled on the floor, several metres away. Shocked, Sakura stood up, scraped the milk-and-ice beverage off her skirt, and turned to confront her assailant. A trio of girls, older than herself, stood behind the bench, smiling grimly and poised defensively. Two of them didn't look too threatening, with their stupid headbands and poorly dyed hair, but the third, the tallest and obviously the leader, was quite a sight. Her shocking red hair stood out amongst everything else, and her ugly smirk made Sakura fear for her mental health.

"You were having a private chat with Sasuke last night, weren't you?" the girl said with a nasty sneer. Sakura gathered the courage, pushing her spineless former self from the surface; she pushed out her chest, folded her arms, mimicking the three girls, and tipped her head proudly.

"Perhaps I was," she frowned. "And who are you to question that, his bodyguard?"

"No, actually," the girl spat back; the notebook sticking out the top of her bag told Sakura that her name was Karin. "I'm his girlfriend, and the leader of his fan club. Now, myself and the others would be _greatly _appreciative if you'd back off; Sasuke is mine, and sometimes the others', and we don't like it when people step on our territory."

Sakura lifted an eyebrow, genuinely affronted by this girl's attitude. _Territory? _While she didn't associate herself with Sasuke in any way, he was nobody's territory. That was just…_wrong_.

"Firstly, Uchiha Sasuke is nobody's territory. He's a human being, not an accessory, so you can stop referring to him like that. Secondly, if you're so worried about me stealing your little toy from you, you can have him. I am, in no way, shape, or form, interested in him. So with that thought fresh in your minds, run along now, little girls. Go and tell all this to someone who cares."

Karin bristled, ready to retaliate; then, with fear in her eyes, looked over Sakura's shoulder. Her eyes budged a little when she panicked. Her lackeys imitated her expression, and the trio took off, heads bowed and hands at their sides. Sakura didn't need to turn around to know what had caused their sudden retreat.

She felt a hand on her elbow from behind, and the heat of someone's breath on her cheek.

"Let's go get you another coffee." Sasuke whispered; Sakura retrieved her bike, and followed without a word.

They didn't speak as they took their seats in the Café. Sasuke wrapped his hands around the mug of plain black coffee, eyeing Sakura's own choice of drink with distaste.

"How can you drink something like that?" he asked. It was the first time he'd spoken since their encounter.

Sakura blinked. "What, something so sweet?"

"Mm."

A shrug. "I don't know, I don't like bitter things."

"Seems we complement each other."

"Seems so," Sakura avoided eye contact as she muttered her reply.

They fell back into a steady silence. Sasuke watched her as closely as he had the night before, examining her features with the intensity of a scientist examining a rare specimen. He noted, above anything, she wouldn't look him in the eye. If she spoke, she would look around them; at his nose, his mouth, his forehead, his hands, over his shoulder…anywhere but his eyes. Something told Sasuke that she was not simply socially inept, or shy.

He folded his hands on top of the table. "Why do you hate me?"

Sakura batted her eyes into her plastic cup. For a moment, she said nothing. She pursed her lips as though readying herself to speak, but words failed her. After what felt like a lifetime, she took a breath. "I don't…hate you."

"You do."

"I really, really don't—"

"Then why do you avoid looking at me? Why do you find it so difficult to hold a conversation? Why…why were you so reluctant to even tell me your name in the beginning? Why—"

"Alright," Sakura said exhaustedly. "Alright, that's enough."

Sasuke looked expectantly at her.

"My ex-boyfriend," she murmured. "you look exactly like him. You speak like him, act like him…shit, he was a bassist in a band, too."

Sasuke paused. "Why is that a bad thing?"

"He left me for one of his band's fan club members. She was a lot like Karin…he left me crushed. I'm scared that if I got close to you," she paused to swallow. "The exact same thing would happen all over again. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to — to get to know you, to be friends, perhaps more, in the future, but…I find it pretty difficult to trust people these days."

Sasuke said nothing for a while. He nodded slowly, then, understanding her predicament. He had to admit, he'd never been in this position, before; having to make a promise.

"And what if I said I'm not this guy you've pre-empted in your head – a shallow person who'll leave you at the drop of a hat?"

Sakura played with the bracelet on her wrist. "It's not that simple, Sasuke. I'm not bullshitting when I say it's not you, it's me."

He patted the top of her hand. "I understand."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, so am I."

"No, you don't have to be."

"I know, but I will be for what I'm about to do."

"What are you—"

He leant across the table and brushed his lips against hers. It was a brief kiss, soft and chaste, hardly counting for anything at all; Sakura was unsure of whether it lasted a second or an hour, though. Her thoughts were too clouded by the fireworks behind her eyes to know, or even care.

As he pulled away, and they opened their eyes, he smirked. "Sorry, I had to do that at least once."

He left a handful of coins on the table as a tip, and left without another word.

**EEEEE—  
I had so much fun writing that. and fangasms. so many fangasms.**

**please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Bwahaha, hi! ;w; This chapter goes out to Nuria Sato for the crazy good advice. thankyou! /heartheart**

Sakura sat down on the bed, phone in hand. She flipped it over and over again; she'd illuminate the screen, then dim it again, hesitating. Who would she call, anyway? Her parents, her friends back home? They'd all say the same thing: _you swore you wouldn't go there again._

The last hour and half was still burning in her mind; Sasuke had certainly made sure to leave an impression on her. His lips were soft and familiar, she thought, _far_ too familiar. Perhaps if he didn't remind her so much of what used to be, she'd be more inclined to let him into her arms, and into her heart.

The past should have been staying where it is: in the past. But somehow, memories of the last two years kept resurfacing in Sakura's mind. The pain and suffering she'd been through, the confusion…they shouldn't have remained with her. She'd left them behind. She'd sworn she had.

She pushed lingering memoires to the back of her mind, and averted her thoughts to the future. What if she _did _accept Sasuke? He'd promised he wasn't all her premonitions had told her he was, but Sakura couldn't be sure. After what had happened before, Sakura was wary and distrusting, and just seeing her ex in every part of Sasuke hurt badly enough.

She buried her face in her pillow, and tried to ignore the world.

* * *

Sai lowered himself from the bus, offering a slight nod to the driver in thanks. Adjusting his bag on his back, he got his bearings; he'd not visited the campus since graduation, but the place had hardly changed a bit, so it didn't take him long to place himself. The Springtime sun bore down on him, muggy and uncomfortable. As he stripped off his sweater, a handful of girls stopped and stared, and commented on how alike he was to a man they called "the Campus Prince".

He tapped a boy on his shoulder, and he turned. Sai greeted the boy with a pleasant, forced smile, and the boy narrowed his eyes in reply. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a Miss Haruno Sakura. Second year."

"Uhh…isn't that the chick with pink hair? Swears it's natural, but refuses to say if the curtains match the drapes?"

Sai cleared his throat. "Yes."

"Yeah, I know her. She's in block 4, dunno which room though. You're probably better off looking in the library for her first, she's _always_ _there_, man, it's weird how one person can read so many books with so few pictures –"

"Thanks," Sai cut the boy off, dodging around him and heading straight for the library. It didn't surprise him that she hadn't wavered from her book-wormish persona. Once a nerd, always a nerd, he supposed.

He let himself into the grand room, and looked around. He briefly caught the librarian's gaze, but looked away hurriedly; he didn't want her to recognise him and strike up conversation. After another sweep of the room, something caught his eye; not the pink hair he was looking for, but a crowd of girls, circling a young man.

The man looked incredibly similar to Sai; dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin, same disinterested expression. He didn't look all that agitated, for someone trying to study while swamped with girls, but then, if this was a regular occurrence he'd be used to it. Perhaps this was the Campus Prince the other girls had compared Sai to?

As if on cue, the boy looked up and caught Sai's eyes. Sai didn't look away, and nor did the boy. Instead, the boy gathered up his books, and elbowed his way through the crowd, murmuring a quick "Move" that scattered the girls like bowling pins. As the girls twigged who he was moving for, the chatter increased; "Are they brothers? They could be, they look so similar…oh, I don't know who's the more handsome of them!"

Sai, once again, tried a smile. "Hello there."

"Are you looking for Sakura?"

"…how did you know?" Sai looked amused. "Has she been talking about me so much that you can recognise me by a mere description?"

The boy shoved past. The moment he was past the door, he broke into a sprint, leaving an amused-looking Sai standing alone.

**DUN-DUN-DUUUUUN. Only two or three chapters left!**

**Review please! c:**


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